The windsor must be a fair bit lighter.
With some alloy heads it can be better again.
And the entire front end would be a bit lighter also, theres a bit less car there than the later ones.
I dont have an XR8 ute but I have a v8 povo one ton ute, which i doubt there are too many of, most are 6 cyl. Factory manual also. (although i put a fairlane auto box and
ECU and
BCM in it now, it can be returned to manual if I wanted)
520,000 km, work/tow mule. Last owner did put the XR bumper on it.
The windsor is so simple and inexpensive to maintain, and the car is light, I dont want to upgrade it to a newer mule as I feel id be going backwards in many respects.